Kuwaiti FM visits Iran to resolve gas field dispute

KUWAIT CITY, April 19 (AFP) -

Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed al-Sabah said Tuesday he would visit Iran for talks to resolve a decades-old dispute over the gas-rich Dorra offshore field. "We have strong ties with Iran in all fields and thus not resolving the issue of the continental shelf and demarcation of maritime borders is a surprising matter," the minister told reporters ahead of his visit Wednesday. "Things have become clear now and I believe there is a strong willingness from both sides to put an end to this issue. I am looking forward to meeting with (Iranian Foreign Minister) Kamal Kharazi to end (the dispute)."

The two Gulf neighbours have been negotiating to demarcate their maritime border for the last several years, but with no concrete results. "We have reached a very advanced stage in the talks. I hope to reach specific points during the visit," said the minister, but warned that border disputes were complex issues which could not be resolved overnight. "I hope we will put the issue on the track that will lead to a solution," Sheikh Mohammed said.

The dispute goes back to the 1960s when Iran and Kuwait each awarded an offshore concession, the first to the former Anglo-Iranian Petroleum Co, which became part of BP, and the latter to Royal Dutch/Shell. The two concessions overlapped in the northern part of the Dorra gas field. A row between the two nations erupted when Iran started drilling in the Dorra field in early 2001. Tehran halted drilling after a few months following complaints by Kuwait, but maintained the field was Iranian territory.

The Iranian drilling spurred Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to agree on a maritime border deal which stipulated that the two countries jointly develop the natural resources of the offshore zone. Iran says it had reached an "understanding" with Kuwait that while the continental shelf between the two states had not been divided, "nothing goes forward." Recoverable gas reserves of Dorra are estimated at some seven trillion cubic feet (200 billion cubic metres), with potential daily output of between 600 million and 1.5 billion cubic feet (17 million and 43 million cubic metres).

Kuwait is rich in oil but badly needs the Dorra field because it lacks sufficient supplies of natural gas. In March, the two countries signed a seven-billion-dollar 25-year deal under which Tehran will supply some 10 million cubic meters (300 million cubic feet) of natural gas daily to the emirate. Delivery is scheduled to begin in 2007. oh/fm/txw